Using a Loading System for Automation and Manpower Reduction

Tachi Seisakusho Mfg Co., Ltd.

(Headquarters: Kiyosu, Aichi)

Tachi Seisakusho Mfg Co., Ltd. (hereafter Tachi Seisakusho, or, the company) has a history of over 70 years, and is certified as an Aichi Quality Company. In 2022, the company was selected as one of the "300 Flapping Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" sponsored by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency. President Machiko Tachi, who leads the company, received the "Female Management Award" at the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun's 40th Excellent Management Award, which recognizes outstanding managers of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Tachi Seisakusho manufactures mechanical parts for a wide range of fields, including industrial machinery, automobiles, and elevators and escalators, and has established a production system capable of handling multi-product small-lot production as well as mass production. The company's flagship products are mechanical parts for laser machines, and it also produces automobile parts for EVs. Another feature of the company is that all production flow, from material procurement to machining and surface treatment, can be completed within the company.

Brother’s support that has changed concerns to trust

At Tachi Seisakusho, "saving manpower/unmanned operation" has been the keyword for about five years. They wanted to automate nighttime operations. While discussing solutions, they came up with the idea, "Let's consider installing a Brother machine with a robot."

"The reason we chose Brother is because we wanted a turning function," says Mr. Watanabe.

Both Mr. Ukai and Mr. Watanabe say, "Although we had installed 5-axis machines, we were not confident about the performance of a 5-axis machine with a turning function." They considered installing a multi-tasking lathe, but those require an operator to constantly attend the machine, which is not their purpose of saving manpower. Then, they thought of installing a robot to the machining-based lathe, and Brother’s machine fit the bill.

They shared their honest feelings, saying, "Since it was our first time to install a machine with a turning function, anxiety about the machine performance was greater than our trust in it." They were particularly concerned about the accuracy of the machine.
"Even if machining is possible, it is meaningless if the required accuracy cannot be maintained. Brother offered a lot of cooperation in this area. While conducting a variety of test machining, we made many requests that might be difficult to implement, but Brother never said it was impossible. They understood what we wanted to do and responded accordingly. Thanks to their support, we could confirm that there were no problems with accuracy, and were able to install the machine without anxiety," says Mr. Ukai.

Onsite personnel were also not confident about the performance of the BT30 machine. But once they used the machine, they were impressed with its surprisingly high accuracy.

After going through such a process, the M200X3 Compact Multi-Tasking Machine with the BV7-870 Loading System was installed in Tachi Seisakusho in October 2022.

Contributes to reduction in machining costs and manpower

At Tachi Seisakusho, the M200X3 now produces 5,000 air conditioner parts per month, and five other types of products.

After installation, we received the following comments: "I think process integration has progressed substantially. The new system is playing an active role in reducing manpower during nighttime operations." (Mr. Tanaka); "The Brother machine provides short tool change time and fast spindle startup. In addition to saving manpower, machining time has been reduced, leading to cost reduction." (Mr. Ukai); "We had the machine customized by installing a workpiece position reversing device so that all operations from loading workpieces to machining and unloading finished products can be done with a single button. The machine is very easy to use at the worksite." (Mr. Watanabe).

Mr. Watanabe added, "I get the impression that as the machine is compact, power consumption is lower, leading to energy saving. Despite the compact size, the machine provides high productivity, so we are using the machine for mass production, receiving benefits."

On the other hand, we see the company’s current challenges. Mr. Ukai says, "In automation, increasing the production efficiency is difficult unless the production style is mass production. In our case, we produce many products in multi-product small-lot production style. In this respect, we feel there are difficulties in selecting products to be produced by the M200X3."

Creating factory for the future through saving manpower and unmanned operation

Staff at Tachi Seisakusho are willing to explore the possibilities of saving manpower and unmanned operation.

Mr. Tanaka says, "We will enter an era where acquiring human resources is more difficult. This is especially true for a company of our size. That is why our objective is to build a production system that allows us to rely on machines for possible areas of our production." Mr. Watanabe follows, "Workers must improve their technical skills accordingly so that they can handle any machines."

Mr. Ukai concluded by saying, "It was very good for us that Brother supported the entire process, including the pallet loading stocker and robot hand."

With an eye to the future, Tachi Seisakusho is working to shift its production system. We hope we can continue working with them as a partner to realize their ideal goal.